1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to locating and tracking apparatuses and more particularly, to a locating and tracking apparatus for lost or abducted children.
2. Description of the Related Art
The safety and well being of children takes the utmost priority in the lives of most people and most particularly in the lives of the parents and/or care givers. To that objective, people have been turning to technology more and more to protect children. Such technological means have included both audio and video monitors, alarm systems and the like. One danger to children that is one of the most frightful to parents and/or care givers is the threat of abduction or of the child becoming lost. While such technology exists for protection of automobiles against similar threats such as car jacking and theft, this technology has not been used to protect children against similar threats.
The previous art consists of many examples of devices that will alert parents and/or care givers to possible dangers to children against unintentional separation of the child from the parent and/or care giver greater than a predetermined distance. Examples of such prior art include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Issue Date 5,650,770 Schlager et al. Jul. 22, 1997 5,557,259 Musa Sep. 17, 1996 5,389,915 Chen Feb. 14, 1995 4,899,135 Ghahariiran Feb. 6, 1990 4,785,291 Hawthorne Nov. 15, 1988 4,675,656 Narcisse Jun. 23, 1987 4,593,273 Narcisse Jun. 3, 1986
While these devices serve a purpose in the retention of young children in crowded areas or in retaining the child in a specific area such as a yard or playground, they do not protect the child that may be older and thus allowed a greater distance from home. Many children become lost and/or abducted while returning from school, playing at a friend's house or while engaged in extended outdoor activities such as hiking or camping. The above-mentioned devices do not allow for protection of the child in such circumstances and are thus unsuitable for the application. Also, these devices work with a dedicated matched receiver that has a limited range, and as such is not suitable for locating a child that has traveled a great distance, such as when abducted by car, away from the original location. Some abductions of children involve the moving of the children into other countries using airplanes, where clearly only a worldwide monitoring system would suffice.
Other prior art includes security devices in which a lost or abducted child can be located by using a radio receiver that monitors the signal transmitted by a matching transmitter in possession of the lost or abducted child. Examples of such prior art include the following:
 U.S. Pat. No Inventor Issue Date 5,714,932 Castellon et al. Feb. 3, 1998 5,617,074 White Apr. 1, 1997 5,121,096 Moore et al. Jun. 9, 1992 5,115,223 Moody May. 19, 1992 5,025,247 Banks Jun. 18, 1991 4,777,478 Hirsch et al. Oct. 11, 1988 4,736,196 McMahon et al. Apr. 5, 1988
While these devices allow for the alerting of parents and/or care givers, they require the use of a large and/or cumbersome transmitter. While such a transmitter may be acceptable to adults, children are less likely to carry such a device on a regular basis. Additionally, these devices suffer from the same problem as listed above, that is the problem of requiring a matched receiver with only a limited receiving distance.
Consequently, a need has been felt for providing a device and method which overcomes the problems cited above.